Install Sentinel
Install the Sentinel daemon and CLI on the robot computer.
Sentinel runs in two parts on the computer connected to your robot: a host daemon (sentineld) that manages the runtime, and the runtime itself, which runs as a container the daemon starts and supervises. One installer sets up both the daemon and the sentinel CLI.
Latest runtime version: 0.13.0. Versions below 0.7.0 are no longer supported and cannot be used. 0.7.0 introduced major breaking changes — configs made for earlier versions must be replaced. Contact us to update your config.
Requirements
| Computer | GPU support | Host software |
|---|---|---|
| x86-64, Ubuntu 22.04 or 24.04 | CPU only | Docker Engine v27+ |
| x86-64 with a discrete NVIDIA GPU | CUDA 13 and NVENC | Docker, a CUDA 13-compatible NVIDIA driver, and NVIDIA Container Toolkit |
| ARM64, Ubuntu 22.04 or 24.04 | CPU only | Docker Engine v27+ |
| NVIDIA Jetson Orin | Jetson GPU and NVENC | JetPack 6.2 or later and NVIDIA Container Toolkit |
| NVIDIA Jetson Thor | Jetson GPU and NVENC | JetPack 7.2 and NVIDIA Container Toolkit |
You no longer choose a container variant by hand — the daemon detects the platform and pulls the matching runtime image.
- Allow 10 GB of free space on the root filesystem.
- On NVIDIA platforms, install the NVIDIA Container Toolkit and confirm the GPU is visible (
nvidia-smion discrete GPUs).
Install
Run the installer
On the computer connected to your robot:
curl -fsSL https://sentinel.avearobotics.com/install.sh | bashThe installer downloads the sentineld daemon and the sentinel CLI for your architecture, verifies checksums, installs a systemd service, and starts the daemon. It is idempotent — re-running it later is the upgrade path.
To pin a version or track the beta channel, set SENTINEL_VERSION or SENTINEL_CHANNEL=beta before the command.
Check the host
sentinel doctorDoctor verifies Docker, GPU runtime support, and that the daemon is reachable. Fix anything it flags before continuing.
Enroll
sentinel enrollEnter your robot's license key at the prompt — generate one per robot in the dashboard. Enrollment happens once; the key is exchanged for a device identity stored in /var/lib/sentinel/identity and never needed again. For unattended setups, pass the key directly: sentinel enroll <key> (no prompts).
Start
sentinel startThe daemon pulls the runtime image and starts the stack with your robot's configuration. See Configure your robot.
Verify
sentinel statusStatus shows the daemon, stack, container, device identity, and config state. See the CLI reference for every command.
Rotating a robot's license key in the dashboard revokes every device enrolled under it. Re-enroll the machine with the new key: sentinel enroll <key>.
Update Sentinel
Re-run the installer to upgrade the daemon and CLI in place:
curl -fsSL https://sentinel.avearobotics.com/install.sh | bashThe runtime container version is part of your robot's configuration, so runtime updates arrive through config changes — sentinel status shows when a newer config is available, and sentinel restart applies it, never mid-session.
Legacy launcher
Existing run_sentinel.sh setups keep working — see the full legacy install page. To migrate a launcher setup to the daemon, run the installer above, then sentinel enroll and sentinel start; enrollment accepts the same license key that is in your config file.